Easy squash soup (Sopa de zapallo)

This is my super easy recipe for sopa de zapallo, a delicious homemade squash soup made with butternut squash or pumpkin, onions, garlic, cumin, tomatoes and chicken or vegetable stock. Served with queso freso, feta or goat cheese, and chives.

En Español

This squash soup, called sopa de zapallo or calabaza in Spanish, is perfect for the cold winter days, or any rainy day. When I first started making this soup in the US I would mainly used pumpkins, however these days I prefer to use butternut squash. You get some squash pulp and it is easier to find year round. I also use tomatoes to help neutralize the sweetness of the squash. Personally, I find that pure pumpkin or squash soups can be too sweet for my taste, but adding tomatoes helps add the right amount of acidity to balance out that sweetness.

You can use any type of winter squash to make this soup, I do use pumpkins when they’re in season (which doesn’t seem to be too long). However, butternut squash is much easier to find and tends to available more often so it is my go to squash to use.

This sopa de zapallo is very easy to make, and uses only a few simple ingredients: onions, garlic, cumin, tomatoes, and chicken stock (use vegetable stock for a vegetarian option).

To prepare this squash soup, you can either cook all the ingredients by boiling them in a pot and then pureeing them. Or if you have extra time and want to get as much flavor as you can from the butternut squash (or pumpkin) then you can first roast the squash, the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Then peel and puree them with the chicken or vegetable stock. Both methods work great, it will be entirely up to you and how much time you have available.

I like to serve this squash soup with queso fresco, feta or goat cheese are also great options. You can also serve it with roasted pumpkin seeds and chopped chives or green onions sprinkled on top.

Pumpkin or squash soup (Sopa de zapallo)

Easy recipe for sopa de zapallo, a delicious homemade pumpkin or squash soup made with squash, onions, garlic, cumin, tomatoes and chicken or vegetable stock. Served with queso freso, feta or goat cheese, and chives.

4.86 from 70 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Ecuadorian inspired, Latin American

Keyword: Butternut squash, Calabaza, Pumpkin soup, Sopa de zapallo, Squash soup, Tomato, Zapallo

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbs olive oil
• 1 white onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 4 roma tomatoes peeled and chopped
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 large butternut squash or 1 small pumpkin peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes:

• Queso fresco or feta or goat cheese
• Avocado slices
• Chopped chives

Instructions

• Heat the oil over medium low heat in a large saucepan or soup pot.
• Add the onion, garlic, cumin, and tomatoes, sauté until the onions are translucent or about 5 minutes.
• Add the 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
• Add the squash chunks, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is very soft, about 30 minutes.
• Let the soup cool down enough to blend to obtain a puree, you will probably need to work in batches or use a handheld immersion blender.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, re-warm if necessary.
• Serve warm with queso fresco, feta or goat cheese and chopped chives. Can also serve with avocado slices.

Step by step preparation photos for pumpkin or squash soup {Sopa de zapallo}